It feels so odd to have all my blog and LiveJournal posts in one place. I can hardly remember what I wrote in the LiveJournal, but I wrote a lot! I feel like LJ was a middleplace between Facebook entries and long-and-detailed blog entries. (It also had an adorable little kitty icon who showed my moods.)
Now that it's all in one happy place, all organized and fortified in together-tude, it will inspire more writings by this one! I am really having a lot of fun adventures down in Austin, and just need to give myself the time to write them down. But I can't right now because I must finish cleaning my apartment, for Sarah and Steve's visit! WooHoo!! :-D
I just imported my old blog (www.haitch.vox.com) to this blog. Feels good to have everything back in one place. :)
Next step--I'm going to try to figure out how to import my old LiveJournal. That has to still exist somewhere too, right? Then I'll have me some comprehensive blog. Oh, sweet OCD...
You know that feeling when you've got a project that lingers? Where the date to give the gift has long since past and you are still working furiously to complete it? Well, I have been working on this cross stitch since April of 2009, as a wedding present for my sister, who got married in June of 2009. And this past Sunday, I finished it! That's about 16 months! Ay yi yi!
When Mary decided on her wedding date, I knew that I would need to make the long bus trip from Boston to Connecticut more often than usual. It takes about 6 hours, each way, so the Cross stitch turned out to be a great way to keep myself occupied. I got the bulk of it completed by the time of the wedding, but the pattern also requires you to fill in the entire background with a lovely peach color. That's really what took the most time. I find that when crafting, the boring stretches are the most excruciating.
By the time I'd moved to Texas, I think I had just about one quarter of the background filled in. Now, 6 months and a whole lot of Netflix later, I can finally say that it's complete!
And here's the finished product! (with my signature, of course)
This was my very first cross stitch ever! I learned a lot about how to keep the threads from tangling and being messy in the back, and also just a lot about how the whole thing comes together. Oh, and I just had enough of the peach color to finish with. That was a little stressful as I got towards the end! Now all that's left is to frame this little beauty, and get it to the relatively newlyweds!
Cross Stitch is like a mix between a coloring book and those plotted graph exercises you used to have to do in math class. It's a great mix of art and puzzles, and I'm looking forward to many more projects in the future! In fact, there are 2 more designs to match the "Love" pattern I just completed ("Faith" and "Hope"). (Though, it looks like the charts have been moved to the site MisoFunky.com.)
Maybe if I start them now, I can get them to Mary and Scott in time for their 5-year anniversary...
Before I moved to Texas, I really distinctly recall making fun of my college friends from Texas for saying it. My argument being that it’s not really a word, and if it was a word, its origins would be found in a steaming pile of terrible grammar. I mean, seriously, “You all”? I can still hear the inbred twangs of a banjo along an uncharted riverside when it’s broken out this way.
But, now that I’m here, I am falling deeply in love with this wacky contraction. And not just because it’s fun to say, or it makes me feel more at home in this foreign country called Texas. I struggle to think of what I used in its place.
Clarity
In French, and in many other languages I’m sure, there are two forms of the word “you”. “Tu” refers to one person (or the familiar), and “vous” refers to a plural (or the formal). In english, we struggle with this distinction. We use the same word, “you” to refer to a close friend, “Hey, can you get me some chips while you’re up?” that we use when we are referring to the larger “you”, “Excuse me, do you carry hammers in this store?”. The distinction lies in the fact that while my friend would be herself getting me some chips while she’s up, the store clerk who I’ve asked about hammers might be able to respond, “No, I do not personally carry hammers in this store, as I have a bad back and only work the register.” If I had asked, “Excuse me, do y’all carry hammers in this store?” he would then have to reply, “Yes ma’am, aisle 4”. (As a sidenote, it is also nice that men say ma’am here. Not always, but sometimes, and it is exquisite.)
Economy
The newfound clarity that “y’all” brings to life is coupled with a fantastic economy of language. If, in New England, I need to specify that I mean the whole group of people, I would have to say, “Can all of you be there at 4pm?”. In Texas: “Can y’all be there at 4pm?” Voila--3 words, 3 syllables, become one! It also eliminates other clunkers like, “Everybody” “You Guys” and “All of You Guys”. This might not seem like a lot, but think about it in terms of text messages. It really saves a lot of time!
Fun When I’m in a store, and I need to ask if they carry hammers, or stationery, or tulip bulbs, I kind of get excited when I have to ask, because that means I get to say “y’all”. I walk around the store, thinking more about how to phrase my question so that I get to say “y’all” without over-emphasizing it. I want to blend in. I want my y’all to be accepted. I want it to be genuine, and accepted. I’ve felt this same linguistic exhilaration before--every time I found myself in a French-Speaking country, and had to order train tickets or french fries. With careful practice, they might just understand me. And with near obsession, my phrasing might not sound horribly out of place or insulting.
Y’all is a fabulous word. And I highly encourage y’all to use it.
Craigslist is a beautiful thing. But sometimes the bounty needs a little work.
Recently, I came across a pretty good bargain on a dining room table with 6 chairs, and matching stools. It was the perfect size for my space, and I was sold. The only problem was that the seats were all stained up--after suffering years of abuse from the 2 child household they'd previously been living in.
Exhibit A: One of the chairs, before:
Ew.
All 6 chairs looked a little something like this. So, I got an extra $20 off, and hauled the suckers home. Then, I took it upon myself to fix them up! I'd never done anything like this before, so I decided to just kind of wing it, and see what happened. I've learned a few lessons along the way, but I think it went pretty well overall! Here's how I did it:
The Tools: (Oh yeah, and some upholstery fabric and some muslin for the underside. I got my upholstery fabric from Ikea and the muslin from Joann's)
Step One: Remove the cushions from the chair frames:
This was easy enough--just 6 screws, and they popped right off. But again, ew. These things were gross!
Step Two: Remove Existing Fabric:
This turned out to be the hardest step. The first time around, I used the exacto knife, pliers, and the flat end of a screwdriver. Turns out, all I really needed was the pliers and that pair of gloves. The best way to pry the staples out was to pull the fabric out, and let the staples come out with it. You also don't have to remove every single last staple. Letting go of that little bit of OCD will really save a lot of time and unnecessary effort. Everything's going to be covered up again, so if a few deeply embedded staples remain there forever, well then, whatever! This was the longest, most arduous step. And definitely the one you really want to wear gloves for. This step was the blister step. Ouch.
Step Three: Estimate how much fabric you'll need:
Though the cushions were about 23" wide, The squares of fabric I cut were about 2-3 inches wider on each side. You'll trim it later on, after it's stapled. The extra fabric is key in helping you pull it tight across the cushion.
Step Four: Cut the fabric to size:
Step Five: Staple the fabric to the back of the cushion:
Oh, sorry, strike that. Step Five is really "Get the cat off the table so that you can use it for the staplin'
Step Six: Staple them cushions!
I found it easiest to staple the straight sides first, and then work on the corners. Try to fold the corners the same way for each chair. The original chairs somehow looked like there were no folds at the corners, but I couldn't figure that out. So, I figured--I'd be consistent amongst all my chairs, even if I couldn't be consistent with what they were like to start. It's important to pull the fabric as taught as possible, and to lay in as many staples as you can. When you are done stapling, tap all the staples in with a hammer, to make sure they're in there good and tight.
Step Seven: Staple on the under lining:
The original upholstery had this weird interfacy fabric as the lining, but the lady at Joann's said that muslin would be a cheaper substitute. So, I went with muslin! I folded it like the old interfacy stuff, and stapled it on to the underside of the chair.
Step Eight: Voila! You are done stapling!
Step Nine: Screw that baby back into place!
Much cuter, non? :-D I even have some fabric leftover for some matching placemats. :-D
So, several hours, and several blisters later, I have an adorable dining room set. Sans weird other-people's-children's stains, and sans icky weird plaid fabric. DIY is sweeeet! :)
Down here in Central Texas, we've been enjoying the last true days of spring*. That hot sticky weather I've heard so much is on its way, so it's important to get all the non-pool-related activities in that you can, before the thermometer mozies its way on up over 100, and stays there for a few months.
The end of spring marks the harvesting time for the Agarita berry. These tart and tangy berries are found on bushes along the road, and they're pretty much up for grabs--if you're brave enough to harvest them!
Yesterday, Mr. Holliday took us out to gather up some berries, so that Mrs. Holliday could whip up some delicious jellies! Here's a quick overview of the process.
Step 1) Locate a good spot to pull the car over. Honestly, I am still not entirely sure of the criteria for this, but it's got something to do with the amount of bushes, how many berries they still have on them, and how many of those berries look like they'll be easy to snag. Good thing we had a pro guiding us, because honestly, I have no idea!
Step 2) Gather up all the necessary tools. This includes a large tarp, a clean 5-gallon bucket (with lid), and a couple of good whackin' sticks. We used a wooden one, and an aluminum one--both about 5 or 6 feet long. They were relatively lightweight, which helps a lot when you are spending your afternoon attacking shrubberies!
Step 3) Prepare the bush. Lay the tarp out underneath the bush, so that when you take your whacks, the berries will fall into the tarp. The closer to the bush you can get, the better, but this takes a certain amount of skill--especially when the grass and weeds around the bushes have made themselves entangled. Mr. Holliday prepped most of the bushes with the speed and accuracy of a pro. Once we had the tarp all set, it was time to start whacking!
Step 4)Hit that bush! It seems like this should really need no explanation. However, I think you can agree that Leara, Sara, and I all perhaps lack the skill of a pro. I had some sort of Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon strategy, that frankly didn't yield a whole lot of berries! Sara's Dad, however, somehow just lightly tapped the bush, releasing the berries to the tarp.
Step 5)From Tarp to Bucket. I didn't get any good action shots of this, but the next step is to get all the berries that you collected in the tarp down into the bucket. It took a little teamwork, and some berries got lost along the way, but the majority were right down in there.
Step 6)For the love of God, please put the lid on that bucket! Because, seriously, look at all of those bugs that were in there! Spiders! Caterpillars! Ladybugs! Tiny cute little grasshoppers! And, like, SPIDERS! It's important to have a lid, because you will be riding back home with this bucket in the car, and you really don't want these little critters roaming all over the car.
It took us about an hour or so to half-fill the 5-gallon bucket. And when we got back to the homestead, Mrs. Holliday said that we'll probably end up with just a few jars of jelly from our excursion. For Sara, Leara and I, our day was done. We took to the pool and hardly looked back.These berries are hard and thirsty work!
We're not even halfway to getting jelly from them! Next steps include separating the berries from the bugs by rolling them down a screen, and then floating the berries before the actual jellying begins! It makes me tired just thinking about how much work goes into this. Thank goodness Mr . and Mrs. Holliday took over at this point! A few weeks later--blammo! Delicious jelly for all!
